ECOLLECTION DAY 2: Fresh Eco-Friendly Fashions

ECOLLECTION took sustainable fashion to the mainstream this week in Las Vegas, introducing an international audience of buyers to a variety of emerging eco-brands and products. Inhabitat scoured the floor to find the latest and greatest in sustainable style, so keep an eye out in Spring 09 for these cool new wears!

LA-based Ecoskin , a brand known for their slinky, sexy designs, introduced two new lines later this year. Fans can look forward to Holiday and Resort, two new collections that blend bamboo, tencel, and spandex to create soft and contoured dresses, tops, and wraps.

Beachy Surfmonk showcased their bamboo cotton coastal wear. Their upcoming Spring line will feature several new hues, backless tops, a pancho, and a blanket and wash cloth set.

In the realm of graphic T-shirts, RVL7 (pronounced ‘revel’ seven) offered up the some strikingly original and positive designs. Each shirt is made from a 50/50 blend of organic cotton and polyester fibers from recycled bottles, and their witty, positive designs offer hipsters a fun and sustainable alternative to the norm. RVL7 will also offer a new line of hoodies and fleece next Spring that are made with a carcinogen-free e-color dye process that does not require water.

Mission Playground showcased new pieces in each of their three distinct collections: Fresh Air for the outdoorsy, Sweet Life for the fashion forward, and Mountain Revival for the urban lumberjacks among us. Most of their clothing is crafted from organic cotton and recycled polyester fibers. Surprisingly, Mission Playground was one of the few exhibitors to show a selection of eco-denim. Look for them at Whole Foods, REI, or Paragon in New York.

Apparel aside, we saw some great accessories and Escama Studio impressed us once again with their sleek and elegant spring collection. Each of their bags is crafted from soda can pull-tabs crocheted together by Brazilian women, and each style is named after one of the ladies. With these gorgeous chainmail-like creations selling like hotcakes at museums across the country, Escama Studio has grown its original team of four artists to a whopping group of 80. Look for them at the Inhabitatshop, and other leading museum gift shops across the nation.